This is a loss for Stevens, but it is also a loss for Fox’s beloved Kristol Ball. On election night, Bill Kristol bravely predicted not only would Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) win the presidency, but Stevens would win re-election to the Senate. He also dismissed Stevens’s ethics violations, calling them “seven counts of something-or-other”:

WALLACE: Bill? Your surprise for Election Night.

KRISTOL: Ted Stevens, the 40-year incumbent in Alaska, recently convicted of seven counts of something-or-other, hangs on in Alaska. The voters of Alaska are loyal to their man. They don’t believe some D.C. grand jury. (Laughter.) Stevens hangs on, which helps Republicans keep the Democratic margin in the Senate reasonable.

And of course, since John McCain is going to take that narrow path to the presidency, let me add, he’ll be there to stop that Democratic Congress with overwhelming majorities from doing all the damage –

Kristol acknowledged that Stevens was “behind a lot in the polls,” but said, “I just sense that the Alaskans might want to not take the word of a D.C. grand jury.” Watch it:

The Kristol Ball of course, has had a less-than-perfect record during this campaign season. Perhaps that’s because the man behind it is still trying to perfect a more elementary skill: fact-checking.

Transcript:

WALLACE: Bill? Your surprise for Election Night.

KRISTOL: Ted Stevens, the 40-year incumbent in Alaska, recently convicted of seven counts of something-or-other, hangs on in Alaska. The voters of Alaska are loyal to their man. They don’t believe some D.C. grand jury. (Laughter.) Stevens hangs on, which helps Republicans keep the Democratic margin in the Senate reasonable.

And of course, since John McCain is going to take that narrow path to the presidency, let me add, he’ll be there to stop that Democratic Congress with overwhelming majorities from doing all the damage —

WALLACE: And so he —

KRISTOL: — doing all the damage that Brit and Juan —

WALLACE: He doesn’t just quit right away. He stays in the Senate until his appeal is done?

KRISTOL: Yeah, I think so.

WALLACE: And if he wins, of course, he stays in —

KRISTOL: I mean, he’s behind a lot in the polls, but I just sense that the Alaskans might want to not take the word of a D.C. grand jury.